Tax residence in Malaysia for Singapore taxpayers

Malaysia treats you as resident if you spend 182 days or more there in a calendar year, with any part of a day counting as a full day. Fewer days can be enough: if they are linked to at least 182 consecutive days in Malaysia within the previous or the next calendar year, if you have spent 90 days or more there in earlier years, or if you were resident in the three previous years and will be in the next. Singapore decides your status for the calendar year too, with 183 days of presence or employment. If both countries claim you, Art. 4(2) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) decides. Both countries tax resident individuals mainly on local income: Malaysia taxes foreign income only when received in Malaysia, and Singapore exempts foreign-sourced income received by resident individuals.

Check your status: Singapore and Malaysia

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under Singapore's Income Tax Act 1947, compared with the law of Malaysia and the tax treaty (DTA).

When Malaysia treats you as a tax resident

Malaysia counts days in the calendar year (an individual's basis year), and the threshold is 182 days (not 183): 182 days or more make you resident. Any part of a day in Malaysia counts as a full day, so the days of arrival and departure count too. Citizenship, visa or owning a home do not matter for this test.

Malaysia links years together: even fewer than 182 days in the selected year make you resident if those days are linked to a period of at least 182 consecutive days in Malaysia that lies entirely within the previous or the next calendar year (for example, you were in Malaysia from 1 March to 31 December of the previous year and stayed on into the selected year). A stay that merely crosses 31 December is not enough: from September to April, neither year contains 182 consecutive days. Business trips for your Malaysian job, medical treatment (yours or a close relative's) and social visits of up to 14 days in total do not break the period if you were in Malaysia before and after the trip; a longer holiday abroad does. The 14-day allowance for social visits covers both periods together.

The second rule is for people who come to Malaysia year after year: 90 days or more in the selected year make you resident if, in any three of the four preceding years, you were resident in Malaysia or spent at least 90 days there. The criteria can be combined — for example, two years of residence and one year with 90 days.

The third rule keeps your status for a year in which you were hardly or not at all in Malaysia (for example, studying or working abroad for a long time): you are resident if you were resident in each of the three preceding years and will be resident in the following year. So your final status for such a year is known only after the following year ends.

For Malaysian citizens in the public service (or with a statutory authority) who spent the selected year abroad because of that work or on study fully paid by the employer, a special rule applies: they are treated as resident.

You spent 182 days or more in Malaysia in the calendar year (counting every part day) — you are a Malaysian tax resident for that year (s. 7(1)(a) ITA 1967). Malaysia taxes income from Malaysian sources at progressive rates from 0 to 30%; foreign income only if it is remitted to Malaysia, and for individuals it is exempt until 31 December 2036 if it was taxed in the country of source.
Fewer than 182 days in the selected year, but they are linked to a period of at least 182 consecutive days in Malaysia within the previous or the next calendar year — you are a Malaysian resident for this year (s. 7(1)(b) ITA 1967). The conclusion is probable: check that those 182 consecutive days really fall within one adjacent year and that every trip abroad was a permitted temporary absence (social visits — no more than 14 days in total across both periods).
You spent 90 days or more in Malaysia, and in three of the four preceding years you were resident there or spent at least 90 days there — you are a Malaysian resident for this year (s. 7(1)(c) ITA 1967). Back up your answer about the earlier years with documents (passport stamps, LHDN statements).
You were a Malaysian resident in each of the three preceding years and are (or will be) resident in the following year — you are resident for the selected year too, even if you were hardly in Malaysia (s. 7(1)(d) ITA 1967). The conclusion depends on your status in the following year: if you do not become resident then, the rule does not apply.
As a Malaysian citizen in the public service (or with a statutory authority) who was abroad because of that work or on study fully paid by the employer, you are treated as a Malaysian resident for this year (s. 7(1B) ITA 1967).

When you are a non-resident

You meet none of the criteria of s. 7 ITA 1967 — you are not a Malaysian resident for this year. Malaysia may tax only your Malaysian-source income, at a flat 30% without reliefs (certain types through withholding tax at source).
Your answers suggest you are probably not a Malaysian resident, but you answered «Not sure» to one of the questions (continuous period, earlier years or the following year). Count your days in Malaysia for the selected, earlier and following years — any of the criteria in s. 7(1)(b)–(d) can make you resident.

Where the rules of Malaysia clash with Singapore tax rules

Collision: 182 days in Malaysia while Singapore also treats you as resident. Malaysia treats you as resident because you spent 182 days or more there in the calendar year; Singapore can treat you as resident for the same calendar year — with 183 days of presence or employment in Singapore (counted differently from Malaysia's part days), as a citizen or Permanent Resident who normally resides in Singapore, or under IRAS's two- or three-year rules. This typically happens in the year you move between the two countries, or when you live in one and work in the other. Art. 4(2) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement decides: a permanent home in only one country makes you its resident; a home in both leads to the centre of vital interests; then habitual abode, nationality and, finally, mutual agreement of the competent authorities.
Collision: Malaysia can make you resident with fewer than 182 days. Malaysia may treat you as resident for a year in which you spent fewer than 182 days there: if those days are linked to at least 182 consecutive days in Malaysia within the previous or the next year (s. 7(1)(b)), if you have come for 90 days or more in earlier years (s. 7(1)(c)), if you were resident before and after that year (s. 7(1)(d)), or as a Malaysian civil servant posted abroad (s. 7(1B)). Singapore applies its own tests to the same calendar year, so both countries can treat you as resident. Art. 4(2) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement then decides — first by permanent home, then by centre of vital interests and habitual abode; the number of days in one year alone is not decisive.

What else to know

Which treaty applies: the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004). Between Singapore and Malaysia the Agreement signed at Putrajaya on 5 October 2004, with a Protocol, applies; it has been in force since 13 February 2006, has effect in Malaysia from the year of assessment 2007 and in Singapore from the year of assessment 2008, and replaced the 1968 Agreement. The MLI modifies it (new preamble, principal purpose test in Art. 27A), but not its residence and relief articles. Residence tie-breaker: Art. 4(2) — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, then mutual agreement. Employment: Art. 15 (183 days in the calendar year); independent services: Art. 14 (fixed base); directors' fees: Art. 16; pensions: Art. 18 — State of residence only; government service: Art. 19; there is no capital gains article (Art. 22 applies); relief: Art. 23 — credit in both countries; mutual agreement procedure: Art. 25 (three years).
Counting days: both countries use the calendar year, with different rules. Singapore decides residence for a calendar year — the basis year for the following Year of Assessment — and counts days of physical presence or employment in Singapore: 183 days make you resident. Malaysia also counts days in the calendar year (its basis year for individuals), but its threshold is 182 days (also in a leap year), and any part of a day in Malaysia counts as a full day, so the days of arrival and departure count. Both countries look beyond one year: Malaysia at a period of 182 or more consecutive days within the previous or the next calendar year to which your days are linked and at your earlier and following years, Singapore — for foreigners — at IRAS's two- and three-year rules. The 183-day limit for salary in Art. 15(2)(a) of the Agreement is counted in the calendar year concerned. Keep a day count for each country, including short trips across the border.
Neither country taxes most foreign income of resident individuals. Malaysia taxes a resident only on income arising in Malaysia and on foreign income received (remitted) in Malaysia; foreign income of resident individuals received in Malaysia by 31 December 2036 is exempt if it was taxed in the country of source. Singapore taxes income accruing in or derived from Singapore and foreign income received in Singapore, but foreign-sourced income received by a resident individual is exempt (s. 13(7A)), except through a partnership in Singapore. So the overlap between the two countries is mainly income from sources in the other country — pay for work done there, rent from property there, directors' fees from its companies — which that country taxes within the limits of the Agreement.
Working in Malaysia while resident in Singapore: the 183-day rule (Art. 15(2)). Pay for work physically done in Malaysia is Malaysian-source income. Malaysian law on its own exempts a non-resident only if the work in Malaysia in the basis year lasted no more than 60 days (para 21 Sch. 6 ITA 1967); otherwise a non-resident pays 30% without reliefs. If Singapore is your state of residence, Malaysia does not tax the pay when all three conditions of Art. 15(2) of the Agreement are met: no more than 183 days in Malaysia in the calendar year concerned, an employer that is not resident in Malaysia, and pay not borne by a resident or a permanent establishment which the employer has in Malaysia. Self-employed: Malaysia may tax professional income only if you have a fixed base regularly available there (Art. 14). For Singapore the Malaysian pay is foreign-sourced income: received in Singapore by a resident individual it is generally exempt (s. 13(7A)); where Singapore does tax it — for example work incidental to a Singapore employment — it credits the Malaysian tax up to the Singapore tax on that income (Art. 23(3)).
Resident in Malaysia: what Singapore still taxes and how Malaysia gives credit. If Malaysia is your state of residence (under its own law, or under the Agreement if Singapore also treats you as resident), Singapore taxes you as a non-resident — only on Singapore-source income and within the Agreement: pay for work done in Singapore (exempt if all conditions of Art. 15(2) are met — no more than 183 days in Singapore in the calendar year, an employer not resident in Singapore, pay not borne by a resident or a permanent establishment of the employer in Singapore; Singapore law alone exempts employment of no more than 60 days), director's fees from a Singapore company (Art. 16; 24% under Singapore law), rent from Singapore property, interest (no more than 10%, Art. 11) and royalties (no more than 8%, Art. 12). Malaysia credits the Singapore tax against Malaysian tax on the same income (Art. 23(1)) — but only where Malaysia taxes that income: foreign income is taxed only when received in Malaysia, and a resident individual's foreign income received there by 31 December 2036 is exempt if it was taxed in the country of source.
Malaysian withholding on payments to a resident of Singapore. As a non-resident of Malaysia you pay Malaysian tax only on Malaysian-source income, partly through withholding by the payer: interest 15%, royalties 10%, fees for technical and consultancy services performed in Malaysia 10%, other income under s. 4(f) 10%, public entertainers 15%. As a resident of Singapore you can rely on the Agreement's limits: interest no more than 10% (interest on approved loans exempt, Art. 11), royalties no more than 8% (Art. 12), technical fees no more than 5% (Art. 13). A sale of Malaysian real property by a foreigner without permanent resident status bears RPGT of 30% within 5 years of ownership and 10% from the 6th year; the Agreement has no capital gains article, so Malaysia may tax gains from sources there (Art. 22). In Singapore such income is foreign-sourced: received by a resident individual it is generally exempt (s. 13(7A)), and gains are not taxed unless the sale amounts to trading — so the Malaysian tax is usually the only tax.
Pensions and government pay between Singapore and Malaysia. Pensions and other similar remuneration, including annuities, for past employment are taxable only in your state of residence (Art. 18 of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement); the Agreement has no separate rule for social security pensions. Pay for government service (including statutory bodies) is taxable only in the paying country, unless the service is rendered in the other country and you are its resident who is its national or did not become its resident solely to perform the service — then only that other country taxes it. Government pensions are taxable only in the paying country (Art. 19).
Residence under s. 7(1)(d) depends on the following year. You are a Malaysian resident under the rule that looks at the following year. If you do not become a Malaysian resident in the following year, your status for the selected year changes — check it once that year has ended. Your Singapore status is not affected: Singapore decides it separately for each calendar year under its own tests.
Certificates of residence. To use the Agreement in Malaysia as a resident of Singapore — for the 183-day rule or the reduced withholding rates — you need a Certificate of Residence from IRAS: apply through IRAS's online application (processing takes 2–3 weeks). To use the Agreement in Singapore as a resident of Malaysia, obtain a certificate of residence from LHDN (online through e-Residence): claim the exemption of pay for short work in Singapore from IRAS with it, and give it to the Singapore payer for reduced withholding rates — the payer submits it to IRAS.

How dual residence is resolved

If both countries treat you as a resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty applies: Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Singapore and the Government of Malaysia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, with Protocol, signed at Putrajaya on 5 October 2004 (Malaysia: P.U. (A) 200/2005), as modified by the MLI. The tests are applied in order — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and finally mutual agreement between the tax authorities.

The treaty in detail: income, rates, the 183-day rule →

Terms you will come across in Malaysia

Income Tax Act 1967 (ITA): Malaysia's income tax law; residence of individuals — s. 7
basis year: for an individual, the calendar year for which residence is determined
LHDN: Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia
Certificate of Residence (e-Residence): Malaysian certificate of tax residence, issued by LHDN online
RPGT (Real Property Gains Tax): tax on gains from selling real property in Malaysia
PR 11/2017: LHDN public ruling on the residence status of individuals

Questions

Which DTA applies between Singapore and Malaysia?

The Agreement signed at Putrajaya on 5 October 2004, with a Protocol, in force since 13 February 2006 and modified by the MLI; it has effect in Malaysia from YA 2007 and in Singapore from YA 2008. The tie-breaker is in Art. 4(2): permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, then mutual agreement.

Does Malaysia tax my salary for a short assignment if I remain resident in Singapore?

Not if all conditions of Art. 15(2) of the Agreement are met: no more than 183 days in Malaysia in the calendar year concerned, an employer not resident in Malaysia, and pay not borne by a resident or a permanent establishment of the employer in Malaysia. Malaysian law on its own exempts work of no more than 60 days in the year.

How is double taxation relieved between Singapore and Malaysia?

Each country credits the other's tax on income it also taxes (Art. 23). In practice the overlap is small: Singapore exempts foreign-sourced income received by resident individuals (s. 13(7A)), and Malaysia exempts foreign income of resident individuals received there by 31 December 2036 if it was taxed at source.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

s. 7(1) Income Tax Act 1967 (Act 53) — An individual is resident in Malaysia for a basis year (for individuals, the calendar year) if he or she: (a) is in Malaysia for 182 days or more in that year; (b) is there for fewer than 182 days, but that period is linked to another period of at least 182 consecutive days in Malaysia falling within the preceding or the following year (permitted temporary absences count towards both periods, and the 14-day allowance for social visits covers both together); (c) is there for 90 days or more in that year and, in each of any three of the four preceding years, was resident or was in Malaysia for 90 days or more; (d) is resident in the following year and was resident in each of the three preceding years.
Public Ruling LHDN No. 11/2017 «Residence Status of Individuals» (22.12.2017), paras 5–6 — Residence depends on physical presence, not on citizenship or a residence permit. Part of a day counts as a full day of presence (the days of arrival and departure count). LHDN's ruling gives examples for each of the criteria in s. 7(1)(a)–(d) and s. 7(1B).
s. 7(1)(b) ITA 1967 (temporary absences) — A continuous period is not broken by temporary absences, provided the person was in Malaysia immediately before and after them: (i) absences connected with service in Malaysia (official business, conferences, seminars, study abroad); (ii) absences owing to ill health of the person or of an immediate family member; (iii) social visits not exceeding 14 days in total.
s. 7(1B) ITA 1967; Public Ruling No. 11/2017, para 6.5 — A Malaysian citizen who works in the Malaysian public service or for a statutory authority is treated as resident for a year in which he or she was not in Malaysia because of service abroad in that post or study abroad fully paid by that employer. The rule does not cover employees of private companies or local staff hired abroad.
Income Tax (Exemption) (No. 5) Order 2022, P.U.(A) 234/2022, as amended by P.U.(A) 451/2024; LHDN Guidelines on income received from abroad (20 June 2024), paras 5.2.2.1–5.2.2.2 — Foreign income of a resident individual received (remitted in cash or electronically) in Malaysia from 1 January 2022 is exempt, except income connected with a partnership in Malaysia — provided the income was taxed in the country of source, or was not taxed there because of its tax system, a tax-free threshold or a tax incentive. P.U.(A) 451/2024 (in force from 1 January 2027) extended the exemption from 31 December 2026 to 31 December 2036.
s. 3 ITA 1967; LHDN «Who is taxable» — Tax is charged on income accruing in or derived from Malaysia and on income received in Malaysia from outside Malaysia. Residents pay at progressive rates and are entitled to personal reliefs (ss. 45A–49); non-residents pay a flat 30% without reliefs.
Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Singapore and the Government of Malaysia (Putrajaya, 5 October 2004), with Protocol, as modified by the MLI — IRAS text — In force since 13 February 2006; effective in Malaysia from the year of assessment 2007 and in Singapore from the year of assessment 2008; the 1968 Agreement ceased to have effect. The MLI applies (Singapore from 1 June 2021 for this Agreement): new preamble, a second sentence in Art. 25(2) and the principal purpose test (Art. 27A); Arts. 4 and 23 are not modified.
Art. 4(2) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — Dual-resident individual: resident of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; with a home in both States — the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests); if that State cannot be determined or he has no permanent home in either State — the State of his habitual abode; with an habitual abode in both or neither — the State of which he is a national; if he is a national of both or neither — mutual agreement of the competent authorities.
IRAS — List of DTAs, Limited DTAs and EOI Arrangements (updated 4 February 2026) — Singapore's comprehensive Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs), limited agreements covering only shipping and air transport income, and exchange-of-information arrangements; the texts of the agreements are published by IRAS.
s. 2(1) Income Tax Act 1947 (definition of «resident in Singapore», para (a)) — An individual is resident in Singapore if, in the year preceding the year of assessment, he or she resides in Singapore except for such temporary absences as may be reasonable and not inconsistent with a claim to be resident; also resident is a person who in that year was physically present or exercised employment in Singapore (other than as a company director) for 183 days or more.
IRAS — «Working out my tax residency» (updated 12 May 2026) — A Singapore citizen or permanent resident who normally resides in Singapore, except for temporary absences, is a tax resident. A foreigner is resident for a year of assessment if, in the preceding calendar year, he or she stayed or worked in Singapore for at least 183 days, or stays or works in Singapore continuously for three consecutive years (then for all three years, even with fewer than 183 days in the first and third). A foreign employee whose employment spans two calendar years is resident for both years if the period of employment, together with the stay immediately before and after it, is a continuous period of at least 183 days (not for company directors, public entertainers and professionals). Days include weekends and public holidays, and temporary absences (leave abroad, business trips) connected with the employment in Singapore.
Art. 15(2) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — Remuneration of a resident of one State for employment exercised in the other State is taxable only in the first State if (a) the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in the calendar year concerned, (b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State, and (c) the remuneration is not borne by a resident or a permanent establishment which the employer has in the other State. Independent personal services (Art. 14): taxable in the other State only through a fixed base regularly available there.
s. 10(1) ITA 1947 — Income tax is payable on the income of any person accruing in or derived from Singapore or received in Singapore from outside Singapore — including gains or profits from any trade, business, profession or vocation, from any employment, dividends, interest, rents, royalties and pensions.
s. 13(7A) ITA 1947 — Exempt is income from sources outside Singapore received in Singapore: (a) by a non-resident individual; (b) from 1 January 2004 — by a resident individual, where the Comptroller is satisfied that the exemption is beneficial to him or her; the exemption does not cover such income received through a partnership in Singapore.
para 21 Sch. 6 ITA 1967 (LHDN, «Tax treatment of residents and non-residents», 2025) — A non-resident's pay for work in Malaysia is exempt if the work in the basis year lasted no more than 60 days (with exceptions, e.g. for entertainers paid from public funds). Otherwise a non-resident pays 30% without reliefs or rebates.
IRAS — «Claiming foreign tax credit» — Where foreign income is taxable in Singapore and foreign tax has been paid on it, a resident can claim a foreign tax credit in the return; the credit is the lower of the foreign tax paid and the Singapore tax payable on that income.
Art. 23 of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — Malaysia allows Singapore tax payable on income derived from Singapore as a credit against Malaysian tax on that income, subject to Malaysian law on foreign tax credits and not exceeding the Malaysian tax appropriate to that income (Art. 23(1)). Singapore allows Malaysian tax payable on income from sources in Malaysia as a credit against Singapore tax on that income, subject to Singapore law and not exceeding the Singapore tax appropriate to it (Art. 23(3)). Tax-sparing paragraphs (23(2), (4)) cover tax spared under listed incentive laws.
IRAS — rates for non-residents (updated 27 April 2026); s. 13(6)–(7) ITA 1947 — A non-resident pays tax only on income received in or derived from Singapore, without personal reliefs: employment income — 15% or the resident rates if that gives more tax; director's fees, consultants' fees, rental income, pensions and other income — 24%. Pay for employment in Singapore of no more than 60 days in a year is exempt (s. 13(6)), except directors' remuneration and income of public entertainers (s. 13(7)).
Arts. 16 and 22 of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — Directors' fees of a resident of one State as a board member of a company resident in the other State may be taxed in that other State (Art. 16). Income not dealt with in other Articles — including capital gains, as the Agreement has no capital gains article — is taxable in the State of residence, but if derived from sources in the other State it may also be taxed there (Art. 22).
Arts. 10–13 of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — Limits on tax in the source State for a beneficial owner resident in the other State: dividends — 5% (company holding at least 25%) or 10%, but exempt from any tax on dividends in addition to company tax as long as neither State imposes such a tax (Art. 10(2)–(3)); interest — 10%, with approved loans exempt from Malaysian tax and government interest exempt (Art. 11(2)–(5)); royalties — 8% (Art. 12(2)); technical fees (technical, managerial or consultancy services, not paid to employees) — 5%, deemed to arise only where the payer is resident and the services are performed in that State (Art. 13).
ss. 107A, 109, 109A, 109B, 109F ITA 1967 (LHDN, withholding tax) — Withholding by the payer on payments to a non-resident: interest — 15%, royalties — 10% (s. 109); public entertainers — 15% (s. 109A); fees for services in connection with property, technical management or advice, rent of movable property — 10% (s. 109B, only for services performed in Malaysia); other income under s. 4(f) — 10% (s. 109F); contract payments for services — 10% + 3% (s. 107A). A double tax treaty may reduce the rates.
Real Property Gains Tax — Schedule 5 RPGTA, Parts I and III (LHDN) — Tax on gains from disposals of Malaysian real property: citizens and permanent residents — 30% (up to 3 years of ownership), 20% (4th year), 15% (5th year), 0% (from the 6th year); persons who are neither Malaysian citizens nor permanent residents — 30% (up to 5 years), 10% (from the 6th year).
IRAS — gains from the sale of property, shares and financial instruments (updated 27 February 2026); dividends (updated 27 February 2026) — Gains from selling property and shares are generally not taxed as capital gains unless the sale amounts to trading (frequent transactions, a profit-seeking motive). Dividends of Singapore companies under the one-tier system are not taxed; foreign dividends received in Singapore by a resident are generally not taxed either (except those received through a partnership in Singapore).
Arts. 18 and 19 of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — Pensions and other similar remuneration, including annuities, paid to a resident of a State in consideration of past employment are taxable only in that State (Art. 18(1)). Pay (other than a pension) from a State, a political subdivision, a local authority or a statutory body for services rendered to it is taxable only in that State, but only in the other State if the services are rendered there and the recipient is its resident who is its national or did not become its resident solely to perform the services (Art. 19(1)); government pensions are taxable only in the paying State (Art. 19(2)).
IRAS — «Apply for Certificate of Residence» (updated 20 August 2026) — A Certificate of Residence (COR) for a state with which Singapore has a DTA is applied for through IRAS's online application; the form depends on the applicant's profile (Singapore citizen or PR employee, self-employed person, foreign employee with or without Singpass). Processing takes 2–3 weeks; the letter is available on myTax Portal if digital notices were chosen, otherwise it is mailed. A foreign tax authority's own form can be certified by IRAS on request (XLSX application and original form sent by post).
LHDN: Certificate of Residence (e-Residence) — LHDN issues certificates of Malaysian tax residence for the application of double taxation agreements; the application is filed online.
IRAS — «Claiming exemptions under Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs)» (updated 27 October 2026) — A non-resident employee who is resident in a DTA partner state may claim exemption of employment income for short-term work in Singapore under the dependent personal services article if all its conditions are met; the claim is made to IRAS with a certificate of residence issued by the tax authority of the other state.
IRAS — «Claim of relief under the DTA» (withholding tax, updated 8 January 2026) — To apply a reduced treaty rate or an exemption, the Singapore payer obtains a certificate of residence of the non-resident payee from the other state's tax authority (in English or with an English translation, stating residence for treaty purposes and the years covered); non-resident professionals also sign Form IR586. The payer submits the certificate to IRAS by 31 March of the following year, otherwise the relief may be withdrawn.
Sch. 1 Part I ITA 1967 — rates for residents, YA 2023–2025 (LHDN) — Rates for residents: 0% up to RM 5,000; 1% — 5,001–20,000; 3% — 20,001–35,000; 6% — 35,001–50,000; 11% — 50,001–70,000; 19% — 70,001–100,000; 25% — 100,001–400,000; 26% — 400,001–600,000; 28% — 600,001–2,000,000; 30% — above RM 2,000,000. Non-residents — 30%.
Income Tax (Determination of Chargeable Income of an Individual in respect of Dividend) Rules 2025, P.U.(A) 148/2025 — From YA 2025, dividends of an individual (resident or non-resident) above RM 100,000 a year are taxable under Part XXII Sch. 1 ITA 1967; the Rules determine which part of chargeable income is attributable to dividends.
Art. 4(2)(a) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — A dual-resident individual is deemed to be a resident of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests).
Art. 4(2)(b) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — If the State of the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has no permanent home available in either State, he is deemed to be a resident of the State in which he has an habitual abode.
Art. 4(2)(c), (d) of the Singapore–Malaysia Agreement (2004) — If he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither, he is deemed to be a resident of the State of which he is a national (c); if he is a national of both States or of neither, the competent authorities settle the question by mutual agreement (d; procedure in Art. 25).

Updated 10/11/2026. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. IRAS, other tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law can change with each annual Budget. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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